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Charles Stewart-Seymour-Somerset, 19th Duke of Somerset
Charles William Hastings Stewart-Seymour-Somerset, 19th Duke of Somerset, Marquess of Hertford, Earl of Galloway, Baron Seymour, Lord of Garlies, Baronet of Corsewell and Burray, GCB, CBE '''(31 January 1978-16 April 2018), styled '''Earl of Galloway '''between 1978 and 2015 and '''Marquess of Hertford between 2015 and 2016, was a British aristocrat and politician who became the 19th Duke of Somerset on the death of his father on the 29th of September 2016. He was Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary '''from 9 April 2015 until 3 March 2016. He is the shortest serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, breaking the one week record set by his father the 18th Duke. He was also sometime MP for West Sussex. He was generally known as '''Charles Somerset, Charles Stewart or The Duke of Somerset. Early life He was the only child of former Prime Minister Henry Stewart-Seymour-Somerset, 19th Duke of Somerset, and his wife Lady Anna Russell, daughter of William Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford. He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. He is the grandson of former President of the United States, William Stewart-Seymour-Somerset, 17th Duke of Somerset. Political career On the 9th of November 2016, the Duke succeeded in a by-election to become the Conservative Member of Parliament for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, where his family seat Marchmont House was located. The Duke also took part in the Conservative Party leadership contest of November 2016, competing against former Prime Minister Lord Berkshire and former Mayor of London Samuel Faith, coming second. Home Secretary On the 27th of November 2016, the Duke took office as Home Secretary. During his tenure as Home Secretary, the Duke presided over several scandals surrounding the Metropolitan Police. Protests surrounding Commissioner Duval The Duke appointed Jack Chapman as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in December 2016. However, Chapman was soon replaced with Chauncey Duval and demoted to Assistant Commissioner. On taking office, Duval reformed the ranks and made redundancies. This caused the Metropolitan Police to lead a two day protest. The Duke is credited, as Home Secretary, as having ended mass riots across London and come to a compromise. The Duke placed Chauncey Duval on Home Office probation and co-opted some of the protesting officers. Then Defence Secretary, Katrina Faith MP, was noted joining in protests against the Home Secretary's house and publicly criticising his department. It is believed that, during a cabinet meeting, the Duke shouted Faith down and threatened to resign if he was not allowed to keep Duval as Commissioner. Clarence House Gate The Metropolitan Police guarded a WISE awards event with uniformed and armed officers. During which, the officers sat guests' tables, spoke on radios and interrupted the aesthetic. Following a woman throwing a plate, the police escorted everyone out and cancelled the event. The national press covered the issue and, as a result, Commissioner Duval was reshuffled to Attorney General and replaced by Matthew Lambert. Stratheden Hall Gate A garden party hosted by the Lord Chancellor, Robert Campbell, 7th Baron Stratheden, was guarded by over 30 Metropolitan Police officers including top brass ranks. The Home Secretary is believed to have made reshuffles within the Metropolitan Police Service as a result. 'Inspector Cross' Gate A police constable masquerading as an inspector was able to drive around Whitehall in an Aston Martin DB11, costing around £150K (£100K more than the average inspector's salary and £130K more than the average constable), whilst on duty and after criticising the Home Secretary for a lack of funding and police personnel. The Metropolitan Police have yet to comment. The Duke has also been accused of attempting to undermine the government led by Samuel Faith whilst in office as Home Secretary. Anti-Nepotism Bill Duncan Machimar MP proposed an anti-nepotism bill that would have made Katrina Faith, then Defence Secretary, redundant as the daughter of the then Prime Minister. As cabinet officials have to either vote with the government by convention or abstain, the Duke was noted as having abstained on all three recounts of the bill, leading people to question his loyalty to Faith's government because he was not voting against a bill that would have jeopardised Faith's cabinet. December Supply Bill attempt On the 22nd of December, following an attack after a speech given by former Prime Minister Lord Berkshire, the Duke proposed a bill that would have allocated extra funding to the Metropolitan Police and Cabinet Departments to increase their security on counter-terrorism measures. However, it had been suggested that the Duke proposed the bill, known as a Supply Bill due to its dealing with money, in attempt that it would be defeated and thus show no confidence in Samuel Faith's government. This is down to the fact that a government unable to pass monetary legislation is a government unable to govern. However, the Supply Bill was quickly tabled after Faith announced his decision to resign, during which a motion of no confidence was filed in the House of Commons and succeeded in ousting Samuel Faith. The Duke won the Conservative Party leadership contest in a majority following the no confidence displayed by the House of Commons in Samuel Faith. Prime Minister The Duke took office as Prime Minister on the 23rd of December 2016, following a vote of no confidence in Samuel Faith as Prime Minister. He became the second member of his family to serve as Prime Minister, like his father Henry, the 18th Duke. His wife, Nicolette, is also a former Prime Minister, as is his great-great-grandfather Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury. He made history as the shortest serving Prime Minister, having been in office for a day and an hour, before he was supposedly found dead of a fatal overdose at his family's Kenyan estate, Florence House. During his short premiership, the Duke presided over the suspension of the Metropolitan Police and the establishment of a citizens' militia with Home Secretary Simon Rodgers. The Duke had appeared on BBC Question Time hours before he would be believed to have been found dead at his Kenyan house, which later proved to be a myth as the Duke was living in exile in Kenya. Fake death The Duke was supposedly found dead of a fatal overdose in the drawing room in Florence House, his Kenyan estate, at 11 p.m. on the 23rd of December. Police originally ruled out any suspicion surrounding the death and said that a suicide note found on the table was conclusive evidence of the Duke's suicide. On the 3rd of April 2017, it was discovered that the Duke had been living in exile in Kenya, where he worked as a petrol pump attendant. A further inquest into the body found by police at Florence House, done on the 3rd of April, confirmed that the body was not in fact that of the Duke's. In a statement, the Duke of Somerset said that he had been forced into hiding by a group of politicians he called the 'December Criminals', which has been compared to the appellation of the 'November Criminals' in Germany in 1918, that included Samuel Faith, but that he did not fake his death and that a member of his staff had done so without his knowledge. Death Stewart died on 16 April 2018 after jumping into an open fire in an action that was believed to be voluntary. Personal life On 9 September 2016, he married former Prime Minister Lady Nicolette FitzRoy, daughter of Terence FitzRoy, 11th Duke of Grafton. He served as President of the National Trust. Ancestry On his father's side, the Duke is the great-great-grandson of the American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt, later the Duchess of Marlborough. He is also the first cousin four times removed to the noted British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, both being descended from John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough. Charles's great-great-grandfather Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough was Winston's first cousin. The Duke is the great-great-great-grandson of the Tory Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury and a first cousin four times removed to Tory Prime Minister Arthur Balfour. He is a third cousin once removed to Diana, Princess of Wales, via them both being descended from Vice-Admiral Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer. Thus, he is a third cousin twice removed to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry and a third cousin three times removed removed to Prince George of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. On his mother's side, he is the grandson of William Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford and cousin to the present Duke. His great-grandfather Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford was a known far-right activist during and outside wartime. He is also a great-great-grandson of Mary Du Caurroy Tribe, the aviator. His great-great-great-great- grandfather Lord George Russell was the brother of John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, twice Prime Minister, himself a grandfather of the philosopher Bertrand Russell. Titles and styles * Earl of Galloway (1978-2015) * Marquess of Hertford (2015-2016) * The Duke of Somerset (29 September 2016-16 April 2018)